Sunday, November 25, 2007

Lovescool's Lovely Matcha Cookies

This is a story of a price-winning and very popular recipe. Lovescool's Kelli came up with a recipe for Green Tea Shortcakes, which won a Golden Scoop Award earlier this year. Then Fanny made them in France. Edith in Singapore. And then Mae and Inne in England. And Maddy in the sunny Los Angeles, and Lisa in sunny Sydney. Valentina on far-away Mauritius enjoyed them. Veronica made them. Carlos in Spain made them. Maribel liked them, and Mandy liked them. And now they've been made in Estonia by yours truly. I changed the recipe ever so slightly, using fine caster sugar instead of confectioner's sugar (I simply didn't feel like powdering my own at the moment, especially as the sugar I had was very fine indeed). I also listened to Mae's advice and reduced the temperature a little to make sure my cookies wouldn't brown too quickly. Here's my version - check out Kelli's post for the beautiful original recipe.

These are really lovely with a cup of green tea - sweet, with a hint of bitterness from matcha. Crisp and delicate. Elegant and beautiful.

Mix caster sugar and matcha powder in a bowl.Cut butter into cubes, place into the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer. Add sugar and matcha mixture. Using the paddle attachment, cream until the mixture is crumbly.Add flour, mix quickly. Add eggs one by one, mixing briefly after each addition.Press the moist crumbs into a ball, cover with a clingfilm and place into a fridge to cool for about 15 minutes.On a slightly floured surface, roll the pastry into 5 mm thickness, using your rolling pin. Use a cookie cutter to cut out various shapes.(It's easiest to work with a smaller piece of pastry at the time, keeping the rest in the fridge).Place the cookies into a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 165 C until the cookies are slightly golden around the edges. Take the cookies out, transfer with the parchment paper onto a metal rack to cool. The cookies will harden and crispen as they cool.

26 comments:

Dear Pille. Would you let me know where to find matcha powder in Tallinn? They must be delicious. I have had a taste of matcha ice cream from a Korean restaurant in Washington DC and nothing MATC-es it! Thank you!!!!! The link to Carlos is also good. Bye now!

Hello dear Anonymous! The Korean restaurant is actually located in Va. Close to Crystal city, but I can`t remember the name or even the shopping center close by. Can it possibly be Pentagon City Mall? There is a big Costco, a Marshalls, and in the very shopping center there is a metro stop, there where M.A.C.Y.S is located. Maybe you can already guess the location, just across the river if going by metro. The Restaurant is very, very famous and good and it is standing (or was) alone there in the back of the shopping center. You would not miss it if driving around or even asking in the area. The food is also excellent! Good luck with this chaotic set of directions!!